Pitt coach Jeff Capel has learned, taught more than basketball in his 45 years

Jeff Capel makes all the tough calls during a Pitt game.

Zone or man-to-man?

Don’t forget to box out.

Shoot the 3.

Pull it back and run the weave.

Those are basketball-related matters he has employed as a player and designed and taught as a coach for most of his nearly 45 years. (He will commemorate his 45th birthday Wednesday by coaching Pitt against Clemson at Petersen Events Center.)

An even bigger part of Capel’s job involves talking to his players about basketball and anything else that’s on their minds.

“I feel like face-to-face conversations, you can feel the mood,” sophomore guard Trey McGowens said. “He’s big on using examples that he went through and other coaches went through. If they went through it, we can relate a little bit more than somebody just trying to tell us.”

Capel’s insistence on a free flow of information from coach to player helps keep the players talking among themselves on and off the court.

Sophomores McGowens, Xavier Johnson and Au’Diese Toney, who comprised Capel’s first recruiting class at Pitt in 2018, have settled into leadership roles. Despite their youth, they have willingly accepted that responsibility on a team with only one active scholarship senior (graduate transfer Eric Hamilton).

“At the beginning of the season, me, X and ‘Diese,” McGowens said, “we brought it upon ourselves (to become leaders) and then coach had conversations with us to kind of lead. We tried to get everybody on board, and they were really receptive.”

With at least eight games left, Pitt (15-9, 6-7) has one more victory than last season. The Panthers have won six ACC games; their two-year total immediately before Capel’s arrival was four.

Physical talent is a big part of that improvement. Meanwhile, the relationship between players and their coach can’t be ignored.

“In order to be an effective leader, one of the big things is communication,” Capel said. “The people that you’re leading have to trust you. There has to be a sincere relationship.

“It can’t be that they feel like that all you care about is them as a player and what they can do.

“I love these guys. I do. At times, they drive me crazy. At times, I drive them crazy. But I think it’s out of mutual respect that we have.

“I think they understand that we just want the best for them. None of the guys have had success at this level. I have. I know what it takes to get there, and I’m trying to push these different buttons. It’s never personal.”

Capel might have unintentionally pushed a button Saturday late in the 73-64 victory against Georgia Tech.

When junior Terrell Brown fouled out with 4 minutes, 50 seconds left, Capel wasn’t thrilled with the official’s call. He turned around and threw a piece of paper toward the Pitt bench. His actions led to a technical foul and four consecutive free throws for Georgia Tech in a game Pitt only led by five points at the time.

Georgia Tech missed two of the free throws and Pitt went on to win by nine, but Capel apologized to his players at the next timeout.

Later, he told reporters, “That was really stupid of me. It could have cost us the game.”

The players found it amusing, and freshman Justin Champagnie playfully teased his coach after the game.

“Coach always tells us, ‘Don’t react.’ But he kind of reacted. It kind of sparked us a little bit.”

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